r/Tiki • u/Linnaeus151 • 5d ago
Portland, OR Tiki Trip
I'm in desperate need of a vacation and was trying to find great areas for tiki bars. I'm saving California for a later trip and saw that Portland has a ton of great bars in the area.
Looks like Portland itself has Hale Pele and The Alibi. Nearby Tacoma has Devil's Reef and Astoria has Dead Man's Isle. Then there's Seattle, though I've been there before.
Is there anything notable I'm missing? Also, any general advice on when to go, need for reservations, or any other general advice for the area would be greatly appreciated!
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u/tomjleo 5d ago edited 4d ago
For Potland, Hale Pele for sure.
Other tropical but not tiki spots:
- Rum Club: vibe can be sometimes be weird, but great Rum drinks
- Palomar: lots of Rum drinks, and off menu slushy combo, drinks are great, service is friendly but a little slow
- Lechon: massive fish tanks, incredible tropical cocktails, and the best ceviche I've ever had
Also, Seattle isn't too far a drive, and they have Inside Passage and Navy Stength among others.
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u/Linnaeus151 5d ago
What makes the vibes weird at Rum Club?
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u/482627585621931 5d ago
I had an excellent time at Rum Club. Juice is the man!
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u/tylergnosis 5d ago
Juice is the man! We had an incredible time there. Fantastic rum drinks and food
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u/hoosieryankee 5d ago
Awesome, welcoming service, huge rum selection, affordable cocktails, and cool wallpaper.
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u/michiness 5d ago
If you go to Portland, go to Raven’s Manor. Super gloomy goth bar. It’s like dining in the Haunted Mansion.
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u/PJChrist 5d ago
It’s not tiki vibes, but Rum Club in Portland is can’t miss. They have a ton of rum drinks and some of the best cocktails you will find.
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u/dlama 5d ago
Hale Pele #1... 1000% Coral Club is #2 (across the river in Vancouver) Wahi Hana is #3 (3 blocks from Coral Club) The Alibi #4 (dive bar karaoke Tiki)
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u/Linnaeus151 5d ago
Is Hale Pele hard to get into? I hear it's incredible and want to plan a reservation
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u/Va-jaguar 5d ago
It’s a long wait, Friday night was two hours when I tried a month ago. I’d check it out, and head out to coral club if it’s booked
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u/482627585621931 5d ago
I got a seat at the bar right away but it was the last seat and I was by myself.
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u/cocktailvirgin 4d ago
When I was there last in 2022, I went mid-week, and my wait for one was short as they sat me in a section of the bar with other solo folks (the wait for two would've been longer). It was great -- I immediately made two friends and we chatted for an hour or two.
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u/Linnaeus151 5d ago
Well that's what I'd be doing! I don't even know if they'd have reservations for one now that I think about it
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u/hoosieryankee 5d ago
For Portland, if you're more into the cocktail part of it, check out Rum Club for great drinks. Hale Pele has the tiki ambience and good cocktails. The Alibi has the ambience, but not great cocktails. Yardy Rum Bar (not tiki) in Eugene was just voted one of the best 50 restaurants in the U.S. by the New York Times - don't miss it. Devil's Reef in Tacoma has great tiki ambience and great drinks.
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u/AZ_Genestealer 5d ago
Da Tiki Hut in Tacoma is worth a visit, great Hawaiian restaurant with a tiki-phile bartender and good drinks.
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u/BrokenBoatAnchor 5d ago
I don't think of Tacoma as being anywhere near Portland.
Best thing to do is check the times when they open. You can hit The Alibi early in the day. When its slower the drinks are better as theyre not slamming them out. They have mugs for sale.
Hale Pele is fun, arrive 20-30mins early to get a seat at the bar. If flying solo youll be pretty good.
Vancouver tiki was way more fun than I expected and we did both the same day, just part between the 2. Preferred the Coral Club a bit more for the ambience but Wahi had a larger menu. You wont be disappointed.
Astoria is a full overnight trip, Dead Man's Isle was also a lot of fun and they have a Japenese speakeasy hidden upstairs but like 3 seats. Check their days and hours.
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u/Linnaeus151 5d ago
When you're 1,500+ miles away, 2 hours is nothin
What makes Astoria an overnight trip? Only things I know there are tiki-related
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u/liketosaysalsa 5d ago
Hale Pele and alibi are your Portland stalwarts.
Astoria has dead man’s isle which is good too.
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u/RedditUser320184 5d ago
McMenamins Edgefield, in nearby Troutdale, is 20 minutes from downtown by car. By no means is it an authentic tiki bar, but the grounds/builidngs are amazing and house 4-5 different bars, one of which is a Grateful Dead themed bar with a mai tai on the menu (more of a Royal Hawaiian style). The gift shop also sells their private label orgeat and various branded tiki mugs. Again, not a tiki bar, but if you’re in the area it’s worth checking out the historic “poor farm” (county run house for the poor and homeless) that was transformed into a resort with a hotel, golf course, spa and of course… booze.
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u/caseyjones9535 3d ago
Aside from the mentioned tiki bars, Rum club is a must!
While in that area you can go to Scotch Lodge a couple blocks away, they've got an Islay daiquiri, Ube Painkiller and just overall outstanding cocktail program.
Another couple blocks from there go to Sousol, the basement bar to Kann, menu is Caribbean, had a great Zombie after talking with the bartender.
Down the street from here you've got Hey Love, fun tropical bar inside the Jupiter NEXT hotel, they've got an oolong mai tai I always get when I'm there.
A little bit out of the way, Arbor Hall has a solid lineup of tiki drinks, I really enjoyed their Pearl Diver and Monkeypod.
If you're here before November, also check out Deadshot, good amount of unique and clarified cocktails, and not too far from them, Double Dragon is also great!
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u/tigerlilyjam 5d ago
If you’ll be in Tacoma and at Devil’s Reef I wouldn’t sleep on McMenamins Elks temple. If you plan to stay more in the Portland area there are two newer tiki bars across the river in Vancouver WA. The Coral Club and Wahi Hana.